Death seasonality determination from pinnipeds teeth

The Cueva del Negro site case (Argentine Patagonia)

Bibliographic Data

ID6137265
AuthorsPablo Ambrústolo (0000-0002-2140-1466, Centro Científico Tecnológico Patagónico), Mikel Zubimendi (0000-0002-2980-4622, Centro Científico Tecnológico Patagónico), Miguel A Zubimendi, Enrique A Crespo (0000-0001-9216-7817, Centro Científico Tecnológico - Patagonia Norte), Enrique Crespo
Year2019
Volume25
Issue2
Pages247-262
Publication date2019-06-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueArqueología (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0327-5159 • E-ISSN: 1853-8126
PublisherEditorial de la Facultad de Filosofia y Letras - Universidad de Buenos Aires (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.34096/arqueologia.t25.n2.6886
OpenAlexW2972131835
LanguageEN
Citations received7

In this article, we present the first results of the determination of season at death performed over eighteen South American sea lions (Otaria flavescens) teeth recovered at Cueva del Negro site (northern coast of the Santa Cruz Province, Patagonia, Argentina). Age and season of death was determined by growth-layer analysis on sea lion teeth. This analysis allowed us to suggest potential aboriginal hunting strategies regarding the capture of these pinnipeds. Our results indicate that sea lions were hunted between summer and early fall, more precisely between January and April. This would reflect a marked seasonality in relation to sea lion availability, which could be explained in terms of mobility and subsistence strategies of the human groups that inhabited the area. In this sense, our results are discussed taking into consideration paleodietary data and the existing archaeological studies

Archaeology · Biology · Fishery · Geography · Sea lion · Seasonality · Subsistence agriculture · Cephalopods and Marine Biology · Marine animal studies overview · Turtle Biology and Conservation · Ecology

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